09/18/2025
There has been a war raging almost since the beginning of mankind’s history. You and I are entangled in it even now. This is not a war between nations, though wars between nations are an echo of it. This is the war of the seed of the Serpent and the Seed of the Woman. In Genesis 3, mankind fell in the sin of our first father, Adam. In the aftermath of this earth shattering event, God pronounced judgments on Adam, Eve, and the Serpent. In Genesis 3:15, as God is pronouncing judgment on the Serpent, He declares to him that, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Theologians rightly believe that this is the first prophetic reference to the ministry and work of Jesus Christ, and indeed it is. He is the Seed (‘Offspring’) of the Woman who crushed the head of the Serpent, however, what often goes unconsidered is that God also puts hatred between the Seed of the Woman and the Seed of the Serpent. The ultimate meaning intended by, ‘The Seed of the Woman,’ is not only Christ, but all who are ‘in Christ,’ all who are redeemed by Him, while, ‘The Seed of the Serpent,’ refers to everyone else, for if a man be not ‘in Christ,’ then he is, by nature, a child of wrath, a child of the Devil (Eph 2:3). There are only two sides to this war, there is no neutral ground (Matt 12:30).
The fact that we are at war has not always been immediately clear at various points throughout history. Indeed, there have been times of ‘cease fire’ where men have dwelled together in relative peace or at least without open and physical conflict. However, genuine peace can never be possible. There is no ultimate fellowship between light and darkness, between the Temple of God and the temples of idols (2 Cor 6:14-18). There has never been, there is not now, and there never will be peace between these two warring factions. Peace will only come when the Seed of the Serpent is fully, finally, and utterly subdued and/or destroyed.
In our current context, the fact that we are at war is becoming ever more apparent. People are beginning to take notice of the conflict, even though they may not attribute certain events or dispositions to this war. Political controversy, daily news accounts of acts of brutality and violence, public opinion, even divisions in families and interpersonal interactions, at times, all bear witness to this war between the seeds, for this war is a spiritual war and, as such, may come to the surface wherever and whenever members of the differing factions are present.
To say that this is a spiritual war is not to minimize it. Because the spirit motivates the will and the will moves the body, this spiritual war invariably manifests itself in very physical and physically violent ways, however, physical violence is not the primary way that we, the Seed of the Woman, fight this war, for physical violence does not serve to ultimately fulfill our objective for fighting. Two clarifications on the use of physical violence: Since our primary role in this war is currently that of an ambassador, our method is to sue for peace through ministry of the Gospel (2 Cor 5:20-21). We are to attack and destroy arguments and every high-minded pretension that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We are to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor 10:5ff.) See, the war has already been won by Christ. Through the violence of death on the Cross and the victory of rising from the grave, Jesus purchased for Himself a people who are His. Our primary duty, then, is to take the terms of surrender to God's enemies in this world: Repent and believe the Gospel, and you will be spared the judgment that the conquering King will visit upon His enemies who retain their allegiance to the Serpent.
The second clarification on the use of violence is simply this: Just because Christians are ambassadors does not mean that we are to be pacificists. Christian men are called to defend their homes, families, and communities (Neh 4:13, 1 Tim 5:8), and the use of physical violence in fulfilling this duty is a good and godly thing. Furthermore, righteous laws require just methods of punishment for those who violate them and at times this will include physical violence, up to and including the death penalty (Gen 9:6, Deut 25:2). Just wars must also be fought to suppress the wicked intentions and actions of evil men and governments (Deut 7:1-11). It is clear that the lawful use of physical violence is not only justified, but required, and we must not be squeamish about it, rather, we must physically and mentally prepare for it.
There is much more that could be said about the nature of this war, the tactics of the enemy, and the Christian’s use of means by which to wage it. For now, however, we must face the realization that we are at war; every one of us. This may be news to many Christians who assumed that the Christian life was supposed to be one of ease. We are at war, and we must learn how to fight.
